Aliyah's POV

"When Ava was a baby I would carry her all the time. I was a little boy myself" he laughed

"I wouldn't let anyone get close to her. I was little and pathetic but I wanted nothing but to protect my baby sister"

"I never noticed she was different"

"Mom and Dad would always warn me not to take her outside to play. Like why can't I play with my baby sister right?"

"When more and Dad weren't watching I would take her out to play with me. She was four at the time. I made her race me around the house"

"We were having fun. But then" he pursed

He was so conflicted. I noticed a tear flow down his face but he wiped it off immediately. He chuckled, but it didn't sound like he was happy about anything.

"She fell to the ground.

She couldn't breath, and was struggling for her life" he pursed

"I stood there Aliyah" he looked at me, the pain so evident in his eyes

"I stood there" he repeated wiping his eyes once more. He sniffled

"I saw my baby sister collapse to the floor struggling for her life and I panicked"

"I couldn't move. I did nothing" he said bitterly

"If not for the gardener that saw us when we went to the backyard to play, Ava wouldn't have made it that day"

He cleaned his face and stared at the ground

"I almost killed my sister" he said with a shaky voice

"I'm so pathetic" he accused

"No you're not" I countered

"Yes I am"

His gaze met mine again

"I could have made up for what I did right? But I didn't. After that day I stayed away. She would call for me but I wouldn't go. I was sacred"

He played with his palm

"I was weak"

"I was a time bomb"

He kept saying. From no where he laughed

"I'm just so stupid"

"You're not Ben. Don't say that"

he shakes his head

"Yes I am. As a stupid defense mechanism I became a bully to her. I was so ashamed of myself but I didn't want to feel bad"

"When I saw Carson grabbing her the other day, I lost it. I should have never been mean to her. It was all my fault to begin with" he caused under his breath

I don't want him to blame himself for something that happened to him when he was little. He needs to understand that people make mistakes and none of what he did was intentional.

"Come here" I said. Motioning for him to receive a hug

He cleaned his face

"I'm fine"

"Come on Ben, don't leave me hanging" I said with my arms still wide out

He laughed but finally stood up to receive my embrace.

I patted his back repeated.

"Don't beat yourself up okay"

"She's fine now. You mean the world to her you know that right?" He released me

"I don't think so" he whispered

"Well I see it in her eyes" I countered

He stared at Ava then nodded

"What about you? You like my sister?" He asked out of the blue.

This got me to blush stupidly

"Yeah I do" I breath out weakly

"I don't think she feels the same way though"

Ben laughed

"Ava doesn't like anyone. But trust me when I say this. She definitely feels the same way" he winked at me

This got me to smile. I hope this is true.

But I can't bank on it

Ava is hard to read. She hardly opens up to me let alone her family.

Thanks for reading guys ☺️

Let me know what you think ❤️